Tommy Doyle discusses future plans amid Sheffield United interest in Man City star

Tommy Doyle has once again refused to rule out the possibility of pulling on a Sheffield United shirt in the Premier League next season.

The Manchester City starlet played a key role in the Blades’ promotion from the Championship, alongside fellow loanee James McAtee, with United keen to work with both again in the future.

Premier League loan rules prohibit more than one top-flight club signing more than one player on a temporary basis from a domestic rival, ruling out the chances of another double loan deal.

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But, as The Star reported earlier this summer, officials at City expect United to potentially test the waters with a permanent bid for Doyle following their promotion to the top-flight. Any such deal would likely depend on a variety of factors being inserted into the deal to protect City’s interests, including buy-back and sell-on clauses, but could allow both McAtee and Doyle to test themselves in the Premier League next season.

For Doyle’s part, he has enjoyed every minute of being a Blade since signing in the summer and has fully bought into life at Bramall Lane, despite only arriving on a temporary basis. A campaign initially hampered by various injuries saw Doyle help United to promotion and also reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, courtesy of his injury-time winner against Blackburn Rovers that was on Saturday evening crowned the club’s goal of the season.

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“Yeah, it’s obviously very special,” Doyle said of the goal. “It was a great moment and one that I’ll probably never forget.

We celebrated promotion well and a 4-1 win [over Preston on Saturday] is amazing after the celebrations we’ve had. So there’ll be a few more celebrations now, and enjoying our time together.”

With boss Paul Heckingbottom having identified Doyle and McAtee as the type of player he wants to work with going forward, United hope the upcoming games against Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City are not the last either plays in a Blades shirt.

While both men are City born-and-bred – both Doyle’s grandparents, Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe, are City legends and long-time teammates – both are also acutely aware of the challenge in front of them to get into Pep Guardiola’s side as their parent club chase a historic treble.

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A season of first team football – 41 appearances for McAtee, 36 for Doyle - will only have whet the appetite for more and 21-year-old Doyle described his time in South Yorkshire as “perfect”.

“The goal was to get promotion and that’s what we’ve done,” he added. “We never thought about a trip to Wembley, and we got there too.

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“I’ve really enjoyed it; it’s been amazing. Playing in front of the fans at Bramall Lane, and even away, has been something really special and I can only thank them for how they’ve been with me.

“I want to play in the Premier League. I’m not sure who it’s for, but I can say I love it here and you never know. We’ll see what happens.”

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